Winter came to the small city of Altarre as it always did: In a very cold series of showers, only occasionally broken by periods of silent grey skies and a very rare few rays of sunshine. It was the time of year when most would rather just stay in bed and hibernate until the rain stopped and the fluffy first snow fell rather than go to school or work. Children would cross their fingers before they went to bed, wishing to wake up to something other than the cold rain, and adults hoped it wouldn't get any colder so they wouldn't have to worry about black ice on the roads.

Of course, whether the rain continued or turned to snow, nothing would change the fact that the weather was fairly uncomfortable to anyone who ventured outside at this time of year. And woe be to any who neglected the proper equipment. Of course, not everyone can really help that, especially when the only equipment you have to use is a bunch of flimsy cardboard and a thin coat of sopping fluff.

Numerous things have happened to these two little kittens who were abandoned by their owners, abused, and left to rot in a soggy old box outside in the rain. On the box it said “Help me please,” as if the owners wrote on it trying to see if anyone would take them. No one quite knows why the owners left the kittens behind, but it was certain that they were no ordinary kittens.

Their eyes seemed to hold a bit of a certain sparkle, and at times the box would be empty. No one knew how the weak things could ever leave this 2 ½ feet tall box by themselves, and most people didn’t have the care to take them or give even give them some food. But perhaps a stranger tale, one that dates back much longer then the city itself, lies in the truth of these two unfortunate misfits.

The cafe was buzzing with activity as people dashed in and out for coffee, hot chocolate, tea, or whatever their hearts desired. The bad weather had resulted in numerous people of various social classes, running in either for shelter, or for something warm to eat or drink. The entrance even managed to get jammed as people were waiting on their orders, without a place to sit as every seat and booth had been taken up.

One of those people stood out, however. A girl dressed in warm clothing; leggings, snow boots in case it started to snow, about three coats, earmuffs, a beanie, and even a bright red scarf draped around her neck. Her hair was black as night, pinned up into a side bun just behind her ear, and her eyes dark as well, though if one would take the time to look closely, they'd see the hint of brown in there.
The way she sat was prim and proper; upright and taking up the appropriate amount of space.

As she drank her hot liquid from a mug, she received odd glares from people who were standing rather impatiently.. as the girl had practically claimed an entire booth to herself. She warded them off with her calm and quiet behavior, finishing up her hot chocolate with a distant glare towards the boy's back who sat in the booth in front of hers, laughing and chatting with his friends.

Moments later, she finished, and a waitress approached her table to fetch her mug and payment, hungry eyes waiting patiently for the chance to bounce on the open booth. Despite all the commotion in the cafe, the girl simply squeezed her way out of the cafe, adjusting her beanie before draping one of her hoods over her head. She walked out onto the sidewalk with a sigh, as it had started to get really warm in there, not only because of her drink, but because of the obscene amount of layers she had chosen to wear that day, as well as all the body temperatures of every person combining to create one giant sauna.

The city was small enough for her to make her way back home on foot, keeping her eyes to the ground to watch as she stepped in puddles along the way. However, the sounds of mewing suddenly caught her attention. She halted, and looked over to the side, to see a cardboard box. Inside, were two absolutely adorable kittens.

Nocci shook the raindrops out of his hair as he ran. Having been unfortunately caught in the sudden shower that had started while he was out running errands, he was without his umbrella again. He should have known better, though; it had been raining practically all week! "Ah, well...at least the air will be clear when it's done. Whenever I get over my inevitable cold, I'll have to make sure that I take the time to appreciate that." Grinning to himself for a moment, he stopped to look around the corner he was out before taking out his phone to send a message to his friend.

Fumiyo looked down at the two kittens, completely in awe. Their little paws were probably so cold.. yet their eyes still twinkled like stars in the night sky.. unlike any cats she'd ever seen, and unlike her own cat she had at home. They whined and cried and were soaked in the rain. She kneeled down and looked as if she was about to cry.. possibly because they were both adorable and sad looking at the same time. Who dared leave two kittens out here in the rain?

As she reached out to pet one, her phone started to buzz. She grunted a little and stood up, assuming it was her father asking her to get home right this second. Or her brother asking her where a certain video game was.. but as she pulled her phone out, she saw the contact read: Nocci. Gasping suddenly, she looked at the messages, chuckling a bit. But she had completely forgotten she was supposed to meet him.

His location wasn't far from here.. maybe she could leave the kittens here for the time being, and come back for them after she fetched her friend?
"I'll be right back, little cuties!" Fumiyo smiled, before casually walking away in the direction of Nocci's location. It was on the other block, so surely she'd make it there in about ten minutes.

Soon enough, she saw him waiting, rather awkwardly. Well, he wasn't joking about being soaking wet. "Nocci!" she shouted from a distance, starting to walk faster in his direction with a cool smile.
"You should have reminded me earlier, I just got done drinking some hot cocoa at the cafe." she rubbed her stomach, making a satisfied noise with her mouth. "It was so warm, and delicious too!"

The girl smirked at him. She was only teasing due to the fact that he looked horrible, resembling those poor little kittens she saw not too long ago.

Deciding that it probably wasn't helpful to at not at least try avoiding some of the wet weather, Nocci tried to duck under an awning over one of the windows of the nearby pharmacy on the corner. It didn't do all that much, but he was kinda protected from the very worst of it. "Agh...it's too cold out here...I want to crawl under a blanket and just take a nap for the rest of the day..." He shivered as he waited for his message tone to sound, hopefully with a response to his previous message, but soon heard a familiar voice instead.

Turning his head toward the source, he smiled at the sight of his better-prepared companion. "Fumaaaa! It's awful out heeeeere!" Despite his whining, one could clearly see the brown eyes sparkling playfully under the bedraggled strands of brown hair he had to keep wiping out of his face. "Aw, I want cocoa, too! You didn't bring me any?" He pouted at her teasing, not really all that upset. Although, cocoa was probably a fantastic idea right now...

Upon further inspection, she gave the boy a disappointed glare and put her hands on her hips. "Well, of course it's awful out here. It's been like this all week, silly. You should have worn something else!" However, she brushed it off. It was all quite amusing to her.. one would question their friendship, as they were pretty much the opposite in some ways. For example, she was usually always better prepared than him.

Hearing his complaining about the cocoa, she placed a few fingers over her mouth and chuckled. "You never asked!" She thought about it.. it wasn't the best reason, but quite frankly, she'd rather tell him that then explain how she had forgotten about him today. She did that a lot.. and her father always shamed her for it. Fumiyo practically drove the man mad when he had to drive all the way back home just because she forgot her backpack on the way to school.

"I doubt you wanna go in that place though, it was packed when I left. But I saw something cool on my way over here, and I want you to see it!" she smiled sheepishly, gesturing so he'd take a walk with her. She wasn't in a hurry.. surely no one would pick those kittens up in their condition.. except her, of course. Fuma loved cats, big and small, ones who were ugly or ones who gave her cuteness overload.

Nocci flinched slightly at his friend's scolding, fiddling with his hands and giving a sheepish look of his own. "I know, but...I thought it might not be that bad today...there was almost a whole half-hour of near-sunshine after I left the shop..." He also broke his umbrella a couple of days ago during something a bit unfortunate but still entirely his own fault, but he couldn't imagine how long he would be teased for that one. It was because of something really stupid, too. Besides that, he didn't really have any excuse for not wearing anything better than his clearly not-waterproof hoodie besides the fact that he was running late and thought that he wouldn't have time to finish his errands before going to see Fumiyo.

At her gesture, he moved out from under the awning and quickly fell in step with her, both a bit reluctant to move to where more rain could get him yet curious about whatever it was that she wanted to show him. "Does this mean that I won't be getting any cocoa? I hope it's at least somewhere dry, then."

She chuckled a bit as they walked, sighing at his naivety. Sily Nocci, always getting himself into trouble. But that's why she was his friend. She looked over him, feeling a bit bad. His hoodie was soaked.. he really did look like those kittens she saw, causing a pang in her heart to start up again. "Ehh.. don't worry, Nocci. I'll buy you some cocoa soon.. maybe even a new jacket, too."
Fumiyo poked on his shoulder a bit as some water started to wet her finger.

"The place isn't dry, but you'll see.. they're so cute! ..they're not girls, though, so don't get your hopes up." Fuma laughed at her own teasing once again, then pondered the genders of the two kittens she saw. Oh well.. she wanted to keep it as a surprise for him. Surely he'd be heartbroken by their condition as well.

Looking him over once more, she halted and sighed, her expression that of complete and utter sympathy. "Err.. Nocci.. are you sure you don't want one of my jackets? I'd rather you be looking girly and fabulous than get sicker than you already are."

The brunette boy grinned at his teasing friend, but waved off the offer. "Pfft! This is nothing! My jacket will survive a quick excursion to find new heart-stopping...you said they're not girls? Are they boys, then? I'll probably leave 'em to you either way, because I totally forgot to fix my hair before leaving the house. They'll only laugh at me!" He pulled an overly dramatic face with his hands on the sides of his head, hoping to get a laugh for his bad acting.

Seeing her stop, though, he paused as well to give her a questioning look. At her suggestion to borrow her jacket, he thought for a moment about the possibility; it probably was smarter than walking around in the cold rain with a semi-frozen soaked garment on...but... "I dunno, Fumi, would the colors really suit me?" He started joking around again, not sure that he would actually want to her to be bothered for something stupid that he got himself into. It wasn't her fault that he had messed up, she shouldn't be cold as well. "Besides, I've got a strong immune system. I'm not that worri--!"

His sentence was unfortunately interrupted by a few coughs, after which he stared at his sleeve like it had been responsible for breaking up his assertion. "...er...maybe we should hurry and go see whatever we're looking for. My throat's just a little dry, but I'll get something to drink after."

As they walked, she listened to him speak, brushing off the offer. But all she did was roll her dark eyes with a smirk, watching him very carefully. Nocci tried to act all big and macho, but she knew he really wasn't. It was all too amusing to her. He joked about the colors, making her laugh a little, then he claimed to have a strong immune system.

..and then proceeded to have a coughing fit right in front of her.

She laughed at him, nodding. "We'll get a drink later. For now, put this on." Fumiyo took off one of her jackets, which was plain white and had fur on the cuffs and rim of the hood. She wriggled around, sighing in relief. "It was getting pretty hot, anyway."
They walked on for about two minutes, before Fumiyo saw the box.

Her face lit up, and she walked a little faster. "Right here! Nocci, look!" her excitement returned, and she stopped in front of the box yet again, kneeling down to see the kittens were still there. And they were still cute as ever!

Nocci looked at the coat his friend held out and accepted it reluctantly, cheeks slightly pink from the embarrassment of having been caught in his lie and needing to be saved from his own ineptitude. As he snuggled into the warmth of the cute garment, he pulled up the hood and sighed in relief; despite his joking, he had been way below his comfort level in the cold weather. "Thanks," he murmured gratefully as he attempted to hide his face slightly in the hood. He'd have to repay her later somehow.

As they walked a bit longer after, the boy couldn't help but wonder whether Fumiyo was really okay without the jacket. She still looked to be dressed pretty warmly, and she didn't seem to act all that cold...maybe it was just his guilt getting to him? His thoughts jumped the track in his mind as the girl sped up and started talking excitedly about whatever was ahead. Picking up his own pace, he moved quickly to catch up and stopped in awe at the sight of what was inside the pitiful cardboard cube in front of them.

"...oh gosh... Isn't it illegal to abandon babies like this nowadays?"

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